If you’ve ever doubted the power of fandom combined with social media, then this story may make you change your mind. Most of us are already familiar with the long-running CW series ‘Supernatural’, starring Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki as Dean and Sam Winchester – a duo of monster and evil-spirit-fighting brothers who have made this show such a huge success, it is now the longest running American fantasy-series.

But it is about to get a whole lot more badass in Season 13, as a “backdoor” pilot for a potential female-driven spin-off is driving fans wild, especially because they were part of the driving force behind making this happen. As Fansided.com reports, the episode planned for sometime during the upcoming season will star Kim Rhodes as Sheriff Jody Mills, who has been a recurring fan favorite character since Season 5.

Deadline reports that although Kim Rhodes is the only confirmed actor to get attached to the spin-off idea, it is said to be very female-focused and draw from existing story lines from previous ‘Supernatural’ seasons.

“[It] tells the story of Sheriff Jody Mills (Rhodes) and a group of troubled young women, all of them orphaned by supernatural tragedy. Under Mills’ training and protection, the women will emerge as a supreme monster-fighting force. Unlike the original series, which centers on a biological brothers, Wayward Sisters is about a sisterhood of girls in a foster family,” writes Nellie Andreeva.

‘Supernatural’ writers-producers, showrunners Andrew Dabb and Robert Singer as well as Phil Sgriccia, Robert Berens will be the creative team behind ‘Wayward Sisters’, but we hope to hear about more women being appointed key roles behind the scenes as details emerge accordingly.

The idea for this spin-off was largely due to the fandom universe discussing it 2 seasons ago when a previous attempt at a backdoor pilot idea called ‘Bloodlines’ didn’t gel with audiences. But the notion of having fan favorites such as Sheriff Jody Mills be the center of a different spin-off quickly gained momentum online.

“The change to Sisters indicates the planned emphasis on sisterhood and female empowerment, a welcome change from the notorious male-driven personalities of Supernatural,” writes Kat Tenbarge at Fansided.

Both Kim Rhodes and actress Briana Buckmaster, who plays Sheriff Donna Hanscum (another character floated by fans as the counterpart to Sheriff Mills), have been engaging with fans about the idea at fan conventions, proving that audiences can have a powerful impact on TV shows and Hollywood when there is enough momentum.

Glamour’s Leah Cornish says the specific idea can be traced back to a line in a season 10 episode, where another recurring character, Claire Novak, is sent by the Winchester brothers to stay with Sheriff Jody Mills, who had previously taken in another female orphan by the name of Alex in season 9.

“What, this is some sort of halfway house for wayward girls?” Claire asks after learning about the Sheriff’s charitable ways for foster girls, and apparently the idea of the Wayward Daughters Academy began.

Aside from tweeting about the spin-off and giving kudos to the fans who kept the idea going until it got to where it is today, Kim Rhodes and Briana Buckmaster created a line of t-shirts which said ‘Wayward AF’, giving proceeds to a non-profit called Random Acts which supports education and community initiatives in Nicaragua.

The term “Wayward Daughters” developed an even deeper meaning than what fans originally anticipated, as stated on the t-shirt site:

“Wayward Daughters started as an idea for a Supernatural spin-off, focusing on the perspective of female characters. It grew into something much larger. It showed us that when we linked hands and formed a community, we were no longer lost no matter where we were. It celebrated individual voices with a chorus we could all sing together. The term “wayward” took on a meaning of support and defiance. We proclaimed loudly that we were exactly where we were meant to be, we would survive with the help of each other, and we COULD, in fact, change the world…We have personally found life-changing strength in the power of Wayward Daughters. We are a movement and this is a direction that feels right for us…We have found each other now it is time to reach out to those who may still be lost.”

As Leah Cornish points out, ‘Supernatural’ already has a large female following, but it has yet to offer something decidedly female-focused to those fans, and the spin-off could be a powerful opportunity to change this and also be part of the trend toward diversity that is being demanded of mainstream Hollywood.

It would be in good company, with so many awesome female-driven series such as ‘Orange Is The New Black‘, ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt‘, ‘Jane The Virgin’ and more injecting some much-needed female empowerment into a range of TV genres while also becoming powerful vehicles for tackling serious issues such as incarceration, abortion, motherhood, sexual assault etc. Perhaps ‘Wayward Sisters’ could be the show that highlights problems within the foster care system that specifically affect young women, such as teen pregnancy.

“Most notably, the show has a remarkably high body count of women and minority characters. Of course, it’s a horror-fantasy show—deaths are to be expected—but add in the fact that the two leads are straight, white men, and the argument can be made that many of these deaths are technically fridging, when female characters are killed, maimed, or depowered in order to move the male character’s story forward,” she writes.

Kim Rhodes herself acknowledges how important it is for fans to speak up, especially when it means bringing about some much-needed gender equality in a genre that is so used to seeing females as tropes.

“I think this is a classic “rising tide carries all boats” thing. We all did this. This was about a bunch of people who believe our voices have worth. When we echo each other it amplifies and can become its own force. This would not have ever seen the light of day without fans who joyously, lovingly, raucously refused to be silent,” she said.

While ‘Supernatural’ continues to enjoy a cult-following, it cannot last forever, so perhaps ‘Wayward Sisters’ will be the perfect way to continue its legacy while also promoting sisterhood and, of course, good ol’ fashioned butt-kicking and monster-fighting. If scenes like the one in the following video from season 11 are anything to go by, consider us new recruits to the ‘Wayward Sisters’ fan universe because we can’t wait to see how audiences react to the pilot in Season 13!